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Islamic Art
Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr
Discover how Islamic art transforms artistic pursuit into a spiritual path toward the sacred through calligraphy, architecture, music, and symbolism.
ONLINE COURSE
1 hour
LECTURES
1 Session
STREAM
PRE-RECORDED
Description
This course offers an introduction to the spiritual, intellectual, and aesthetic foundations of Islamic art. Rather than approaching Islamic art merely as a historical phenomenon, the course explores how the Islamic artistic tradition is rooted in a sacred vision of reality encompassing unity, contemplation, and inner knowledge. Students will examine major forms of Islamic art, including calligraphy, architecture, poetry, music, painting, and the decorative arts, and consider how each reflects deeper metaphysical and spiritual principles. The course also explores how the rediscovery of the sacred roots of art in the Islamic tradition can open new ways of thinking about beauty, creativity, and unity in the contemporary world.
Texts
Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality (and other texts)
Suggested Readings
Titus Burckhardt, Art of Islam: Language and Meaning
Titus Burckhardt, Sacred Art in East and West
Martin Lings, The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination
Schedule of Meetings
Class 1
What is Islamic Art?: Revelation and the Sacred Foundations of Islamic Art
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, ix–16.
Class 2
The Sacred Word (visual dimension): Calligraphy and Sacred Geometry
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, 17–26.
Class 3
Poetry, Music, and the Language of the Soul
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, 87–97; 151–162.
Class 4
Painting, Imagination, and the Concept of Space
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, 177–184.
Class 5
Sufism, Symbolism, and the Inner Meaning of Beauty
Readings: Nasr, The Garden of Truth, 60–80.
Class 6
Islamic Architecture and Contemporary Urban Problems
Readings: Nasr, The Principles of Islamic Architecture and Contemporary Urban Problems.”
Class 7
Tradition, Modernity, and the Crisis of Art in the Contemporary Islamic World
Readings: Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, 195–202; Knowledge and the Sacred, selections.
Instructor Bio
Seyyed Hossein Nasr
